Delighted by Ducks

Chickens are pretty cool and definitely useful, but I love my ducks! Their care is similar to the chickens. In fact, my birds eat Chicken Layer Pellets, as there is not a specific “duck food” readily available in my area. Housing is also similar, the difference being that they do not need the roosts to perch on, so their home can be much shorter. When all my feathered friends lived together, the ducks struggled with the wooden ramp leading up to the chicken coop for awhile, but figured it out when the weather turned cold enough (long after I had given up chasing them down and lifting them into the coop every night!).
	My ducks had a temporary home of dog crates with shavings for night time shelters, inside a chain link dog run that opened to a portable fence during the day. This housing situation was only temporary for the warm summer months, but unfortunately stayed up too long. A racoon had Daphne halfway through the chain link fence before we heard the scuffle. This lucky duck survived her second predator attack with a four by three inch skinned patch. She recouperated in the tub for a few days, but it never even slowed her down... she was trying to climb out and explore from day one!
	As the little ducklings get more feathers, they start taking day trips out of the basement to explore the great outdoors within a moveable pen. Be sure to include the chick waterer that allows them access to drinking water but keeps their duckling down dry. Also, don't leave them unsupervised at this point... they just stay out for the afternoon then go back to the safety of the basement.
Ducks do not need an actual pond, though they appreciate a large bucket low enough they can get into and out of (I use a horse waterer inside their pen) that they can bathe in. Keep it filled, because ducks can dehydrate faster than chickens do. My ducks are lucky enough to have an actualpond on our property. They were so funny getting used to the water and learning this new way of moving… Devon and Delilah were trying out their diving skills in jerky motions. Daphne likes to clean up then flap her wings and shake off the extra water. It took them a little while to get used to our routine, but they spend some time at the pond and field during the day and come home to the barn at night.

Duck Breeds at Dancing Frog Farm

	With her black feathers and beetle-green iridescence, Daphne is a classic Cayuga and is the leader of the flock—I’m guessing because she’s a year older than everyone else, and because she’s one tough cookie. She survived a fox attack that earned her two weeks of recuperation in the bathtub and a permanent limp. A few weeks after being reunited with her outdoor chicken friends and buddy, Daisy Duck, she survived a weasel attack that Daisy did not. Thinking Daph would be lonely for other duck companions, I found two five-month old Khaki Campbells on “Craig’s List” that would be able to go outside right away.
	Campbells like Devon and Delilah are brown, medium-sized ducks. They are prolific layers, though Daphne did not start laying eggs until she was about a year and a half old, so I think maybe ducks start laying later in life than chickens do. There were two more Khaki Campbells in the first batch of ducklings I bought this year, but they haven’t been named yet, as I still can’t tell them apart!
	Pekings are big, white ducks. I have two from the first batch of ’09 ducklings, though I have a previous dislike of the breed. I am trying to get over the bias, because even though the Pekings I knew before were bullies to kids and other ducks, that doesn’t mean these little guys will be, too.
	I had wanted to get some Runner ducks since I first saw them. They are a very comical small breed of duck, shaped like a bowling pin, bopping around the yard. They get their name from the short, quick, running steps they take rather than a traditional waddle. I can’t wait to see my six little ducklings in action in the grass!